The Blog and Memoirs of Jerry Seltzer.

Main menu

Post navigation

It boggles the mind

I am writing this on July 22, 2011. In one week Val Capone and I will be giving a seminar at Rollercon in Las Vegas on how to promote your league, a bit of history and a lot of advice…..between us we have almost 70 years of Roller Derby experience.

But at this moment my head is spinning. Checking with www.derbyroster.com which keeps track of all the registered leagues in the world is like watching the moving numbers of our national debt on that board in NYC, well maybe not quite. But yesterday there were 951 leagues, today there are 952….By the way, if you haven’t done so, go to the aforementioned site and go through a bunch of cities and countries and check out the teams’ sites. The posters, the merch, the designs are amazing, reflecting the interpretation of this true American game throughout the globe.

And I am so excited about this year’s Rollercon; I know so many more of you through Facebook, my blog and our interchanges; and most importantly, Val and I are tying the Derby knot. I really want to meet and talk to as many of you that want to talk to me. Also, I have great information on a new and easy way to sell tickets for your games; Judi Flowers will be on hand to put her design talents to good use for Roller Derby. She has already been featured on Oprah, on Good Morning America, Vogue, Sex and the City, Will and Grace with her unique fashion statement, and she is dying to get your input.

And now, my www.rollerderbycommish.com website is available. We are starting out with just a book, a video, and before and after skating footwear, but many more items will be available soon. (There, that’s my commercial). Be sure and scroll down on the home page to hear what Brandy Rettig has to say (unsolicited), and don’t tell me she is two-faced.

My one overriding desire is to find a way to not make Roller Derby such an expensive endeavor for the participants. They have to pay dues, buy all their own equipment, contribute to the community, and road trips are not easy and much is out of pocket. I know that in many leagues skaters can not get paid, but if there could be a way to alleviate these additional hardships, it would be meaningful. And since there are promoters who are making money from these games, there must be some way of creating an equitable payment for reducing dues or whatever.

Collage elements from stock.xchng.com work by Billy Alexander and Steven Goodwin.

And now the World Cup!

It’s in Toronto December 1-4, with many additional skill and other events that weekend. Bring your longjohns and whatever else. There are 13 countries participating: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden and of course, Team USA. And two great coaches, Buster Cheatin and Bonnie D. Stroir, will put together which should be the most powerful squad.

As I write this, the final tryout for Team USA is in Florida. A certain amount of seeded and other players have already qualified, but so many are fighting for the just 20 positions on this prestigious team. And of course there is the cost and financial sacrifices that are made to do this, but what could be better than this once in a lifetime experience.

Now remember, we had less than 150 total participants in the Roller Derby of our day, and that was their only job in most cases. And a skater joining us from Canada was a big deal. Please just stop a minute and think about this thing from inner space that has 952 leagues worldwide in 35 countries with some 40,000 participants and hundreds of thousands watching them play monthly and THAT is a BFD!

Pat yourself on the back if you are any part of today’s Derby, and let everyone in your community know the above information and they are lucky to have you doing what you are doing.